Netscape founder backs browser startup RockMelt

After a successful run in the early to mid 1990s, which came to an end a few years later with the arrival of Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 4, Netscape founder Marc Andreessen is reportedly looking to get back into the browser game. Citing unnamed sources, the New York Times claims Andreessen and some of his former colleagues are investing in a new browser venture known as RockMelt.

This might give an interesting twist to the current browser wars, but do we really need another contender? Now that Firefox has prompted a new wave of competition in the market, things are started to feel a bit crowded with Chrome, Safari, Opera, and of course a renewed Internet Explorer. But Andreessen believes its new browser would be different from the rest, saying that most other browsers had not kept pace with the evolution of the web – pretty much what every other competitor claims about their rivals.

Little is known about RockMelt, but the Times suggests the browser is intended to be coupled with Facebook and ReadWriteWeb backs that notion claiming to have caught a glimpse at an early build. Considering Andreessen’s presence on the board of Facebook that doesn't seem too far-fetched. RockMelt could be a way to browse the web with a focus on Facebook (and the growing number of Facebook Connect partner sites) or just social networking in general – something Flock has tried to do with very limited success.